Here are key dates in the conflict between pro-Moscow separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine that has left more than 5,300 dead since April 2014, according to the United Nations.Kiev and the West accuse Russia of arming the rebels and of having deployed more than 9,000 soldiers in Ukraine, something Moscow denies.– 2014...

By Timothy Heritage and Richard Balmforth The leaders of Germany and France are expected to take peace proposals to Moscow on Friday on the second leg of a dramatic initiative to end a conflict in Ukraine that has killed more than 5,000 people and driven Russia-West relations to new lows. The planned trip by Chancellor Angela Merkel and President...

Buildings and armored vehicles were destroyed during battles between separatist rebels and the Ukrainian army in Vuhlehirsk, Donetsk region, on February 4, 2015. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov) Berlin, AP—French President Francois Hollande says all parties pushing for a new peace plan for eastern Ukraine see a ceasefire as the first step but must go...